Philippe Geluck

(b. 7 May 1954, Belgium)

Philippe Geluck is active in many artistic field, but for comics fans, he is best known as the creator of 'Le Chat'. Born in Brussels, Geluck wanted to become a comedian since his childhood. He eventually starred in several plays by the Belgian National Theatre. In 1976, he began the Théâtre Hypocrite, where he played works by Chaval and Copi. For a period of twenty years, starting in 1978, he worked on various productions for the broadcasting company R.T.B.F., including the children's show 'Lollipop' and 'L'Esprit de Famille'. He also cooperated with the show 'Le Jeu des Dictionnaires'. For La Semaine Infernale, he made a section related to his show, called 'Le Docteur G répond à vos Questions'. In 1983, he cooperated on the films 'Benvenuta' by André Delvaux, and on 'Jeackson et le Mnémocide' by Jean-Louis Colmant (script by Jean Van Hamme).

In addition, Geluck has been active in print ever since he was 14. His first illustrations were published in Azimut and the medical publication L'Oeuf. His paintings were exhibited in London, Paris, Milan, Copenhage and Dallas. He has made children's books based on the 'Lollipop' show for Labor-Nathan and he cooperated with the magazine Jouez avec Quick et Flupke.

In 1983, he created his popular egocentric cat with big glasses, known as 'Le Chat'. The character made its first appearance in Le Soir, and was soon also published in Sud-Ouest, Ouest-France and À Suivre. The first album of 'Le Chat' was published by Casterman in 1986, and it was an instant hit. Geluck has also made his own 'Encyclopédie Universelle', which featured palimpsests and other fairytale animals. In 2002, he became editor of the collection C'est Pour Offrir of the publishing house Casterman. In this collection, he reprinted work by Siné, whose cats were a big inpiration for his own 'Chat'. In 2009, he scripted the comic 'Les Avontures de Scott Leblanc - Alerte sur Fangtaufa', a spoof on classic belgian comics like 'Tintin' and 'Blake et Mortimer', drawn in a Clear Line style by Devig and published by Casterman.